In Like a Lion
by Theophila
Summary: She had been cold for a very long time now, almost eight years. It felt like 100. Even before the train, the chill had been almost unbearable, but now it was worse. Now she was numb, and Susan didn’t think she could take it much longer.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Narnia, and I don't own enough of an imagination to come up with anything witty to add to that.

Also—and this is important—I most certainly do not own the lyrics of the song "In Like a Lion". 'Tis Relient K's.

**Author's Note**: This rather goes with another fanfic of mine, "Susan's Winter," but it can be read on its own. I suppose this would be called a song fic? (Sorry, I'm a bit new to this.) At any rate, the lyrics are all from In Like a Lion, by Relient K. Go out and listen to it now. It's worth it.

Please read and review. I appreciate constructive criticism, and if you review I'll give you apple pie. With cinnamon.

* * *

**In Like a Lion**

By Theophila

_It's always nice to look out the window  
And see those very first few flakes of snow  
Later on we can go outside  
We'll create the impression of an angel that just fell from the sky_

_When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes  
Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies  
And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh  
For the green grass waiting on the other side_

* * *

Susan was cold. 

She had been cold for a very long time now, almost eight years. It felt like 100. Even before the train, the chill had been almost unbearable, but now it was worse. Now she was numb, and Susan didn't think she could take it much longer.

Still, she felt nothing.

It was not long before they came to her door. They told her that she must pull herself together, and that she must go back to work so that she could pay the rent, and that they had taken care of the funeral arrangements, must they take care of her, too? Goodness, Susan, they told her, they've been gone for months, can't you pull yourself together and move on? We're tired of taking care of you, they told her, so get a grip.

Susan tried to remain numb and turn away from them, but she was burning with rage. Really, what sort of friends w_ere _these? How _dare_ they insult her siblings with such indifference and irreverence? They were dead. Dead like winter. And all that was Susan had died with them. Her façade had melted, too, and now all that was left was a shell, or perhaps a skeleton, like the bare, cold trees outside that seemed so familiar.

But her friends pushed and pressured her, and despite their not-so-noble motives, they managed to do some good in that they started the thaw.

It was a slow thaw, and a painful thaw, and it was a rare night when the pillows weren't stained with tears. But slowly and steadily Susan Pevensie, the one once called Gentle, pulled herself together, and got back to life.

* * *

_And everything it changed overnight  
This dying world You brought it back to life  
And deep inside I felt things  
Shifting everything was melting  
Away, oh away  
And You gave us the most beautiful of days

* * *

_

It was a cold winter day, and Susan had to walk briskly about the park to keep from freezing. Her husband said it was mad, to go out for a walk on such a cold day as this, but she rebuked him affectionately, reminding him how much she loved the winter weather, and that he needn't worry—she would keep warm.

As she walked, Susan remembered Edmund, the Just one, and how she had so enjoyed their winter walks together in the Lantern Waste. They would talk and laugh and smile, and Susan would take comfort in that Edmund always understood her. She remembered Lucy, the Valiant one, and how she had brought her warmth and light. She remembered Peter, the Magnificent one, and the way he had always been there for her, so strong and unchanging.

Not like herself. No, Susan was ever changing, but at least now she was coming closer to where she wanted to be.

Winter had come crashing in, threatening to destroy all that was left of her, but it could never destroy the seed of hope buried deep inside her. Susan smiled as she looked upon the bare, seemingly dead, trees. The Hope blossoming inside her heart, she now knew, would not have to come and go with the seasons of joy and sorrow.

"In like a Lion…" mused the Gentle Queen softly.

* * *

'_Cause when it's always winter but never Christmas  
Sometimes it feels like You're not with us  
But deep inside our hearts we know  
That You are here and we will not lose hope_


End file.
